The Great Clock Phenomenon
by Another Bechloe Shipper
Summary: Everyone has a countdown clock appear when they are thirteen that tells them when they'll meet their soulmate. The clock is somewhat dynamic and the number can go up or down depending on the person and their soulmate's choices. It turns red when you're within one hour or less of meeting your soulmate. Bechloe Week 2019 Day 1 - Soulmates


It was Beca's thirteenth birthday. It was almost time for her countdown clock to appear. Ever since The Great Clock Phenomenon of 1971, everyone got their countdown clock on the underside of their right wrist at the moment they turned thirteen. Everyone was encouraged to check their clock after making a big life decision as that was known to affect the numbers on the clock.

Just as the exact moment Beca turned thirteen arrived, she looked at her wrist. It said "30 years, 1 month, 19 days, 4 hours, 23 minutes, 5 seconds."

"I have to wait thirty years? That's dumb. Soulmates are stupid, and so is this clock," she said.

"Beca, you know the clock changes from time to time. I'm sure you really won't wait thirty years," said her mom.

"But what if I do? Maybe I'm just not meant to get married and have kids," she said. "I'll just make music like I said I would. I might as well since I'll be over forty when I meet whoever it is."

Beca headed to her room and shut the door. She put her headphones on, fired up her music program, and made a few mash-ups. She didn't need a soulmate – just her music.

* * *

_Five years later_

Beca was in the middle of her senior year of high school. Her countdown clock still showed she'd be over forty when she met her soulmate. Beca decided she didn't care much for the whole idea of having a soulmate, so she focused her efforts on improving her music. She sang in the choir at school, and she took every music elective she could fit into her schedule.

She regularly fought with her father about going to college. He taught comparative literature at Barden University, and he was determined to have Beca attend. Beca, however, didn't want to attend college. She wanted to move to Los Angeles and try to find work as a music producer.

She filled out the college application to get her father off of her case. She knew she'd likely get accepted. Her grades were decent, and her father taught at the school.

"Hey, Beca, did you check your clock?" asked her father after Beca mailed the school application.

"No," she said.

"You never know if going to college will make you meet your soulmate sooner."

Beca rolled her eyes. "I'm not checking it. I filled out the application, but it doesn't mean I'm going to Barden. I still want to go to LA and pay my dues."

"Beca, DJ'ing-"

Beca cut him off. "DJ'ing is not a profession," she mocked. "You don't listen to me. Like ever. I want to produce music."

"You're getting a college education first."

"That's what you think."

Beca stomped up the stairs to her room. She wished she knew how to make him understand. She looked briefly at the clock once she was in the privacy of her room. It hadn't changed.

* * *

_The following year, late August_

Much to Beca's dismay, she ended up enrolled in college. Once the acceptance letter arrived, her father had insisted she attend. Beca couldn't save enough money to move to LA, so her hands were tied.

The upside of this was that her college tuition was free, and that included room and board. Beca figured if she was stuck attending college, she could at least get out of her parents' house. She'd put in the bare minimum effort until her parents saw things her way and let her drop out of college. Maybe she'd find herself a job and save some money to move to LA before her four years were up.

Beca checked her soulmate countdown after she'd sent back the paperwork to enroll at Barden. It hadn't changed – she was still going to be over forty years old when she'd meet her soulmate. The joke sure was on her dad. Deciding to go to college hadn't changed things one bit.

Beca arrived in her dorm to find her roommate had already arrived.

"You must be Kimmy Jin. I'm Beca."

The girl simply stared back at her.

"No English?"

She didn't respond.

"Yes English?"

She still didn't respond, shooting Beca a side-eyed glance instead.

"Just tell me where you're at with English?"

She still didn't say a word. Beca didn't know what to say. She dropped the subject and began to unpack her belongings. She set up her music equipment on her desk.

Beca said, "Well, this is it. My music is everything to me, Kimmy Jin. So please don't touch, cool? Like ever, okay?"

Kimmy Jin just stared again.

"It is extremely important to me that you acknowledge this information."

Beca still didn't get a response. She hoped that the other girl understood, whether or not she spoke English.

Beca began to tweak her latest music mash-up when she heard a knock at the doo. "Hey, this is Campus Police, hide your wine coolers!"

The door opened, and in walked Dr. Mitchell. He smiled, and said, "Ha ha! Just your old man making a funny."

Beca rolled her eyes, turned back to her mixing equipment and said, "Chris Rock, everybody."

He turned to Kimmy Jin and said, "Hey, you must be Beca's roommate. I'm Dr. Mitchell, Beca's dad. I teach comparative literature here."

Kimmy Jin still said nothing.

Not knowing how to respond, Beca's dad turned back to her and said, "So, when did you get here? How did you get here?"

"I took a cab. I don't need your help anymore. I'm an adult now."

Dr. Mitchell changed the subject. "So, have you guys been out on the quad yet? In the springtime, all the students study on the grass."

"I don't wanna study on the grass, Dad. I need to move to LA and get a job at a record label and start paying my dues."

"Here we go again. Beca, DJ'ing is just a hobby unless you're Rick Dees or someone awesome-"

Beca cut him off. "That's not...I wanna produce music. I wanna make music, Dad."

"But you're going to get a college education first, for free, I might add. End of story."

"I'm going to the activities fair," said Kimmy Jin, shocking both Beca and her father.

"Me too," said Beca. "I'm going to the activities fair with my super good friend, Kimmy Jin."

"Beca! Your clock!" exclaimed Dr. Mitchell.

Beca looked to see her clock had suddenly turned red, the timer showing around ten minutes. "I guess my soulmate is at the activities fair. Bye, Dad!"

Beca headed toward the fair, lifting her wrist every few seconds or so to see if her clock had changed back to black. It stayed red and continued its countdown.

Beca's clocked showed seven minutes when she got to the quad. Kimmy Jin headed to the Korean Student Association booth immediately. Beca looked around, trying to figure out in which direction she should head. She wondered if going different directions would change her clock. She spotted a booth that said "Barden DJ's" and headed in that direction. She stole another glance at her clock. It was still red, showing six minutes. _So I guess my soulmate is a fellow DJ, _thought Beca. _I can roll with that._

As a group of frat boys walked ahead of her, she glanced at her clock again, relieved it hadn't counted down to 0 just yet. Frat boys were definitely not her style.

Beca walked up to the DJ booth. The clock showed three minutes. As Beca was looking at their poster, a blonde woman walked up to her. "Aw, yeah, DJ's. Deaf Jews," said the woman in a thick Australian accent. She pointed to the words on the poster.

Beca was about to walk away when two men wearing yarmulkes smiled at the two women, loudly saying, "Shalom."

The blonde woman said loudly, "That's not a word but keep trying. You will get there."

Beca chuckled. She wasn't Jewish, but even she knew that was a real Hebrew word. "Not a lot of Jewish people where you're from?"

"Uhhh...no. But I did do _Fiddler on the Roof_ in high school. It was, like, me and some Aboriginals, like full-on Jew."

Beca walked away, noticing her countdown was down to thirty seconds. Her heart was beating fast as she tried to figure out where her soulmate was. It was just her luck that this had to happen at the activities fair on college move-in day. She'd told herself that soulmates were stupid, but that was when she thought she'd be in her forties when she met her soulmate. Yet, here she was, just a few weeks away from age nineteen, and her soulmate was nearby.

She looked around, wondering what she was supposed to do, when a pretty red-haired woman with bright blue eyes handed her a flyer, and said, "Hi! Any interest in joining our a cappella group?"

Beca looked down at her wrist as she grabbed the flyer. Her clock was at zero, as was the clock on the red-haired girl's wrist. She took a deep breath, but she couldn't get any words out. She just took her other hand and pointed to both clocks, stammering some "Uhhhh..." She felt like an idiot.

"Did your clock just go down to zero?" the girl asked. Beca could only manage to nod.

"Then I guess we must be soulmates. I could have sworn mine said twenty-four years this morning."

"The activities fair was a last-minute decision for me," said Beca.

"That must be why," said the girl. "I'm Chloe."

"I'm Beca." She looked at Chloe. "So, my soulmate is a woman. Cool."

"I got a good one," said Chloe. Beca could see her raking her eyes up and down her body.

"So did I," said Beca, smirking.

"So, would you like to join our a cappella group?"

"Right, so this is a thing now." Beca was surprised that Chloe didn't want to talk more about being soulmates, but she figured she'd go along with it for now.

"Oh, totes. We sing covers of songs, but we do it without any instruments. It's all from our _mouths_!"

"Yikes," said Beca, trying not to show where her mind went when Chloe talked about her mouth. This idea of a soulmate sure was causing her some feelings she hadn't had before.

Chloe went on to explain the other groups on campus. Beca tried to focus, but her head was swimming. She hadn't prepared herself for the idea of meeting a soulmate, and she was really surprised that Chloe wasn't visibly freaking out.

"So, are you interested?" asked Chloe.

Beca snapped back to the conversation. "Sorry, I don't even sing. I'm glad I found you, though." She unlocked her phone and opened her contacts. "Can I have your number?"

"Sure," said Chloe. She added her number to Beca's contacts and then texted herself so she'd have Beca's number.

"Okay, I'll call you. Good luck with the a cappella group."

* * *

Beca and Chloe spent a lot of time together for the next month, but it was almost always in the company of others. They applied for "soulmate housing" on campus, a group of small apartments that could only be occupied by a pair of soulmates, but there was a waiting list. In the meantime, Beca tried to tolerate her roommate. Every time Chloe came over, Kimmy Jin would shoot the pair an icy stare. The two of them would quickly become uncomfortable, and Chloe would leave. This sure was going to be a long semester if she was stuck living in the dorm the whole time. Kimmy Jin frequently had friends in and out of the room, and Beca tried to be kind to them. However, it never changed the icy stare she'd give to her and Chloe. She'd wanted to go to Chloe's dorm, but Chloe said her roommate was even worse than Beca's. Apparently, her roommate had also met her soulmate, and the two would frequently kick Chloe out of the room so they could have sex. Sometimes, they'd just go at it while Chloe was right there in the room. This made being alone nearly impossible for the two soulmates.

Beca's phone alarm went off. She groaned. Why had that advisor talked her into an 8 am "Intro to Philosophy" class? She snoozed the alarm, deciding that she'd rather sleep. That class sucked, and her stupid roommate and her friends had been up late playing video games the previous night, ignoring Beca's requests to get out or at least lower the volume. Beca got up about a half-hour later, hoping the dorm showers wouldn't be too busy.

She put on a bathrobe, grabbed her shower caddy and a change of clothes, and headed into the showers. She only saw one pair of feet, so she was relieved that she'd have her choice of shower stalls. She picked one way on the end and hoped there was still hot water.

She began to sing as she waited for the water to warm.

_You shout it out, but I can't hear a word you say  
__I'm talking loud, not saying much  
__I'm criticized, but all your bullets ricochet  
__You shoot me down, but I get up  
__I'm bulletproof, nothing to lose  
__Fire away, fire away  
__Ricochet, you take your aim..._

Behind her, she heard the unmistakable voice of Chloe.

"You can sing!"

"Dude!" yelled a very shocked Beca.

"How high does your belt go?" asked Chloe.

Beca, still shocked, said, "My what? Oh my god!"

"You have to audition for the Bellas."

"I can't concentrate on anything you're saying until you cover your junk."

"Just consider it. One time we sang backup for Prince. His butt is so tiny, I can hold it with one hand."

Chloe was standing there, acting like it was perfectly normal to have a conversation while naked in the shower. Beca was trying to cover her bits. Soulmates or not, this was weird. They hadn't physically gone beyond some rather tame kissing, partially because Beca wasn't very comfortable with public displays of affection, and they really were never alone for long.

"Seriously, I am nude."

"You were singing Titanium, right?"

"You know David Guetta?"

"Have I been living under a rock? Yeah. That song is my jam, my _lady _jam."

"That's nice," replied Beca, looking away and trying to hide her body with the shower curtain.

"It is. That song really builds," said Chloe, winking and making an inappropriate hand gesture.

Beca then realized what Chloe meant by lady jam and said "Gross."

"Can you sing it for me?" asked Chloe.

"Dude, no! Get out!" yelled Beca. Was Chloe really expecting Beca to serenade her while she did..._that?_

"Not for _that_ reason. I'm not leaving here until you sing."

Beca stood in silence for a minute, and Chloe just stood there, relaxed. It was clear that Chloe wasn't going to leave her alone, so Beca started the song over again at the chorus. She looked directly at Chloe's face so she wouldn't get caught checking out Chloe's body. She crossed her arms over her breasts, to try and have a tiny bit of privacy.

_I'm bulletproof, nothing to lose_

Chloe joined in, harmonizing

_Fire away, fire away._

_Ricochet, you take your aim,_

_Fire away fire away_

Beca let her guard and her arms down and continued.

_Shoot me down, but I won't fall  
__I am titanium_

A smile broke out on Beca's face, and then Chloe's.

_Shoot me down, but I won't fall  
__I am titanium._

Both girls had big smiles after this. Their singing was beautiful, and the acoustics in the shower enhanced the sound. Beca waited for Chloe to get the hint and leave.

"Oh, yeah, I'm pretty confident about...all this," said Chloe, gesturing to her body.

Beca looked down at her briefly, and said, "You should be." Her soulmate was definitely a weird one, but seeing her naked body certainly didn't suck. She then realized she'd dropped everything she'd been using to cover herself and scrambled to grab the shower curtain again.

Beca opened her mouth to ask Chloe to leave when she found her lips covered with Chloe's. She pulled back when Chloe began to deepen the kiss.

"What?" asked Chloe. "We're alone."

"Chloe, someone could come in here any minute."

"So? We're soulmates."

"Yeah, but you know I don't like doing this in front of people."

"Right," said Chloe. "Well, we can go back to my dorm."

"So we can watch your roommate do it with her soulmate? Gross."

"She moved out. They got soulmate housing."

"When were you going to tell me?"

"I was waiting to tell you in person. Your singing was distracting."

"Thanks, I think."

"Oh, it's totes a compliment. So, are you going to audition for the Bellas?"

Beca shrugged.

"Please?" asked Chloe, giving her the classic puppy-dog eyes.

Beca rolled her eyes. "Not fair," she said. "Fine, I'll audition, but on one condition."

"What's that?"

"You let me finish my shower. By myself."

"Beca, I don't see what the big deal is."

"I know we're soulmates, but give me a little time to process before we go jumping into bed."

"Will you go with me to my dorm? Just to spend some time together?"

"I'd like that."

"And you _promise_ you'll be at auditions tonight?"

"I said I would." Beca waited for Chloe to leave. She didn't. "Chlo?"

"Oh," she said. "See you in my dorm when you're done!" Chloe left the shower area.

Beca finished her shower quickly. Chloe kept her word and left Beca alone. She headed straight to Chloe's dorm once she was dressed, thankful that she didn't have class for a while that day.

Chloe flicked on the TV and invited Beca to sit on the bed with her. Pretty soon, Beca felt Chloe pull her in for a cuddle. _I guess I ended up with a cuddler, _thought Beca.

Beca ended up falling asleep in Chloe's arms. She never did sleep all that well in her dorm. She never felt comfortable with Kimmy Jin around.

She woke up a little bit afterward to Chloe stroking her hair. "What time is it, Chloe?"

"It's 3:00."

"Shit. I had class at 2."

"Sorry. If I'd known, I would have woken you up."

"It's fine. I wasn't expecting to fall asleep. I don't sleep well with Kimmy Jin in the room. That girl hates me."

"You should take my extra bed while we wait for soulmate housing. Technically, you'd still be assigned to your dorm, but you can stay here whenever you want."

"I like that idea, but I'm going to have to at least keep some stuff in the dorm. There's no way I'm telling my dad." He knew Beca and Chloe were soulmates, but he was the type who would try and get the school to officially change Beca's dorm. Chloe's building was for upperclassmen, so the university would reject the request and insist they wait for soulmate housing.

"Good idea. Keep some stuff in the room, but sleep here most nights."

"I will," said Beca. "I should head back to my dorm. I'll pack stuff up to bring here."

"And auditions are at 5!"

"I know. I'll be there. I have a 4:00 class, though, so don't freak if I'm not there right away."

"Okay. Bye, Beca!"

* * *

As luck would have it, Beca's class ran a little late, causing her to stroll in late for auditions. She wasn't very familiar with the audition song either. She was just getting to the auditorium when auditions were ending. She was about to turn and walk out when Chloe spotted her. Chloe said, "Oh, wait! There's one more!" She gestured for Beca to come in.

Beca nervously walked to the middle of the stage. "Hello. Ummm...I didn't know we had to prepare that song."

"Oh, that's okay. Sing anything you want." Beca had to think she'd gotten away with that much due to being Chloe's soulmate.

She knelt down at the front of the stage near the desk where Chloe and another girl were seated. She immediately thought of a song to sing. She'd wasted an afternoon that summer teaching herself a cup rhythm game to something she saw on Reddit. "May I?" she asked. Chloe nodded, and Beca gently emptied a plastic cup of pens and pencils onto the desk.

She sat cross-legged on the stage and began to tap a rhythm with the cup. She began to sing

_I got my ticket for the long way 'round  
__Two bottle 'a whiskey for the way  
__And I sure would like some sweet company  
__And I'm leaving tomorrow, wha-do-ya say?  
__When I'm gone  
__When I'm gone  
__You're gonna miss me when I'm gone  
__You're gonna miss me by my hair  
__You're gonna miss me everywhere, oh  
__I know you're gonna miss me when I'm gone_

She was pretty sure she noticed Chloe staring at her boobs while she sang. Chloe shot her a big grin at the end, but the girl next to her simply glared. Maybe Beca should have tried the audition song, but at least her soulmate was happy.

* * *

Beca was in her dorm getting things together to keep in Chloe's dorm when she heard a knock at the door. She opened the door, prepared to inform whoever was on the other side of the door that her roommate wasn't around when she felt someone put a hood over her head and pull her into the hallway.

She screamed in surprise but instantly relaxed when she heard the soothing voice of none other than Chloe. "Relax, Beca. It's part of Bellas initiation."

"You couldn't have warned me?" asked Beca.

"Where's the fun in that?" asked Chloe as though Beca were making the most ridiculous comment ever.

"You are so lucky we're soulmates," said Beca, grumbling.

She was dragged into what Chloe told her was the auditorium with a bunch of other girls. Once she had her hood taken off, she could see she was lined up in a room full of candles. The blonde from the audition handed everyone a scarf, told them to drink "the blood of the sisters" (Chloe promised her it was Boone's Farm when Beca initially refused), and made them recite an oath that started okay but ended with a promise not to have sexual relations with a Treblemaker. This was weird, considering it was a pretty rare thing for anyone to have sexual relations with anyone other than their soulmate. Beca figured that oath must have been created before The Great Clock Phenomenon.

After that, the group went to a party for everyone in a cappella. She saw one of her fellow new Bellas looking down at her wrist. She looked up at the guy in front of her – a Treble – and saw his clock had also gone down to zero. They quickly disappeared from the party.

Before Beca had any time to think about it, Chloe was pulling her away. "Want to head to my dorm?"

"What about the party?"

"I don't care about the party. I want to be alone with my soulmate."

"Sounds good. Let's get out of here."

* * *

Beca and Chloe were making out in Chloe's bed when Chloe's phone went off with a text. "Are you going to check that?" asked Beca when she came up for air.

"No. I don't care."

They were lip-locked again when Chloe's phone began to ring. Chloe grumbled, ignored the call, and silenced her phone.

"Who was that?" asked Beca.

"Don't know, don't care."

The two of them resumed the makeout session. Beca had just felt Chloe's hand snake under the hem of her shirt when she heard angry banging on the door.

Chloe got up, practically growling in frustration. She angrily marched to the door as Beca straightened out her shirt and ran a hand through her hair.

Chloe threw the door open, yelling, "What?!"

Aubrey, the captain of the Bellas (and the person who glared at Beca at her audition), stood angrily in the doorway. "Chloe, we have a situation. Why haven't you been answering your calls or texts?"

"I've been a little busy."

Aubrey looked over at Beca. "Are _you_ the reason she ditched the party?"

Chloe spoke before Beca could answer. "Aubrey, stop. She's my soulmate. You know damn well we don't get alone time. What was so important?"

"Kori was Treble-boned."

"So? They're soulmates. I saw their clocks go down at the party."

"She took an oath."

"Aubrey, that oath is stupid. If she wants to sleep with her soulmate, I don't care if he's a Treble."

"Well, I do."

"Just because Bumper is an ass doesn't make them a threat. I don't know why you haven't taken that last part out of the oath."

"Well, I'm in charge, and I say she's out."

"Fine. Now, could you please leave Beca and me alone?"

"Whatever. Go back to your alt-girl soulmate."

Chloe shut and locked her door and placed her phone on "do not disturb."

"Chloe, don't you want to talk to Aubrey?"

"I will, but right now isn't a good time. She's definitely not going to listen to me if I try. Besides, I want to get back to you," said Chloe, sitting on the bed and wrapping her arms around Beca. "Now, where were we?"

Beca kissed Chloe, and things rapidly progressed into another makeout session. Chloe's arm slipped under Beca's shirt. She quietly asked, "Is this okay?"

"Yes," said Beca, kissing Chloe harder. When she broke the kiss she said, "I'll tell you if I don't want to do something, okay?"

"I'll do the same," said Chloe.

The two spent a fair amount of time making out and gently touching each other under their shirts. They agreed to stop things before going further, as neither one wanted to rush things too much.

Chloe checked her phone before going to bed. "There's a text from Aubrey. Apparently, Mary Elise was caught leaving with a Treble. Aubrey said she saw the girl's clock hadn't gone down yet. She wants her out."

"What is her issue with the Trebles?"

"Apparently, way back before The Great Clock Phenomenon, the Treblemakers were known for bedding the Bellas. I guess it caused a bunch of them to get distracted? Anyway, it's been in the Bellas oath for years, but I guess Aubrey is the first person to take it seriously in years."

"Crazy," said Beca. "I can't believe Mary Elise left the party with someone who wasn't her soulmate."

"College is a crazy time," said Chloe. "It happens a lot."

"So, did you...ummm...?"

"Oh, Beca, no! I swear! I might have kissed a few people, but nothing more than that. I mean, I was going to be over 40 when I met my soulmate."

"I guess that's all right," said Beca. "I never bothered. I poured myself into my music since I figured that was what I was supposed to do."

"I'm glad you went to the activities fair."

"Me too."

* * *

Beca spent most nights in Chloe's room. She never actually took the extra bed, choosing instead to sleep in the twin bed close to her soulmate. It had begun as the two of them falling asleep in Chloe's bed after intense makeout sessions, and/or Chloe insisting on cuddles (Beca pretended to dislike them, but she knew she wasn't fooling anyone). Beca quickly gave up the idea of sleeping in Chloe's extra bed, quickly being accustomed to (read: needing) Chloe cuddling her to sleep.

Beca kept her mixing equipment in her official dorm. She knew if her father stopped by her dorm and didn't see the mixing equipment, he'd know something was up. She also found the best time to work on her music was when she could be alone. She'd frequently go to her official dorm when she knew Kimmy Jin would be in class.

The Bellas spent the season of competition always one place behind the Trebles. Beca frequently butted heads with Aubrey regarding the musical choices. Chloe would occasionally stick up for her, but Aubrey refused to hear a thing from either of them. Beca was sure she would hear Ace of Base in her nightmares.

At the semifinals, a group called the Footnotes delivered a fun and exciting performance, and the group knew they were in trouble, especially since they were performing directly after the group. Beca noticed that the audience and judges looked positively bored with their performance just a few bars in. Once Chloe began to sing the chorus of "The Sign" Beca made the bold choice to weave "Bulletproof" into the song. She noticed the judges immediately perk up at her improvisation, but Aubrey shot her several dirty looks. A few of the other members look a little confused, but many smiled, including Chloe.

Aubrey reamed Beca out for changing the set, causing Beca to angrily storm off and declare she was done with the group. Chloe immediately followed her, declaring that she wasn't staying in the group without Beca.

The two girls took a cab back to campus and headed straight to Chloe's dorm.

"I can't believe you quit the group for me," said Beca.

"You're my soulmate. Of course I quit the group for you," said Chloe.

Beca's text message alert went off. "Well, it's over now anyway," she said. "Fat Amy just texted. We got third."

"I can't say I'm surprised. I'm sure Aubrey blames you, but I don't. I actually thought it went really well. Sure, you should have talked to us before making the change, but it's not like Aubrey was going to listen anyway."

"If she doesn't listen to you, her best friend and co-captain, nobody else has a prayer of getting through to her. This really sucks, though. I joined for you, but I really liked the group."

"Yeah," said Chloe. "I'll try and talk to Aubrey later. For now, I just want to snuggle up with my girl."

"Sounds good," said Beca. She changed into pajamas and curled up with Chloe like she had every night since Chloe's roommate had moved out.

After a few minutes, it was clear neither girl was able to fall asleep. Beca was going to see if Chloe wanted to talk when she felt a hand under her pajama top. _This is better than talking, _she thought.

Beca reciprocated, and things led to the two women losing their virginity to each other.

"Sex is great! Why didn't anyone tell me that?" asked Beca.

"Maybe because you blocked out any of that talk as a child since you thought you'd be over forty when you met your soulmate."

"Yeah, that was probably it. The other kids at school would look at their clocks and talk about when they were going to meet their soulmate. I usually stayed out of those discussions. Hell, I wouldn't show my clock to most people."

"Sorry you had to experience that."

"So, nobody gave you a hard time about how late you were going to meet your soulmate?"

"No. My parents met in their 30's, so I guess I thought it was genetic." Chloe gave a small shrug.

"I never thought about it that way," said Beca. "Well, either way, I'm glad I found you."

"Me too. Let's go to bed," said Chloe, pulling Beca in for a cuddle.

* * *

The next morning, the girls woke up, still naked and cuddling, and went for a few rounds before deciding they really needed to get out of bed and have some breakfast.

As they were dressing, Chloe's text alert went off. She looked and saw she'd gotten texts from several Bellas. Most of the others were just asking if she and Beca were okay. The one from Aubrey insisted they talk. Chloe wasn't sure whether Aubrey was going to apologize or further yell at her for quitting. She texted everyone that she and Beca were fine (she was going to say better than fine, but Beca did not find that statement funny at all). She agreed to meet Aubrey for dinner, wanting some more time to sort things out in her mind.

Beca and Chloe talked about the previous night over breakfast.

"So, do you want to go with me when I meet Aubrey for dinner?"

"Did she invite me?"

"Not specifically. But I'm assuming she wants to talk. Do you want to go?"

"Aubrey has never once wanted to hear what I have to say, and the season is over. Pass."

"If you're sure."

"I am. Maybe I'll head over to my parents' house. I've been so busy with everything I haven't been over there lately. Mom and Dad have been bugging me to go over there for dinner for weeks."

"Okay. Enjoy."

"I'll try. I find my parents a lot less annoying now that I don't live there."

"Same."

* * *

After Beca got back from dinner with her parents, she found Chloe hanging out in the dorm.

"How'd it go?" asked Beca after greeting her soulmate with a peck on the lips.

"Okay," said Chloe. "Aubrey apologized for yelling, but she maintains that you screwed up."

"I guess she isn't totally wrong," said Beca. "I shouldn't have made that change. It was spur of the moment, and I was trying to save the performance. But I know I threw everyone off."

"I know you were trying," said Chloe. "And I think, at least on some level, that Aubrey knows too. She just has such a hard time giving up control. And now it's too late. The season is over."

"Yeah. It sucks," said Beca.

* * *

A few days later, Chloe's phone rang and Aubrey's picture showed up on the caller ID. Beca was in the room working on homework. She heard Chloe squeal happily. She looked at her with a quirked eyebrow, but Chloe didn't seem to notice. Beca tried to block out the noise and went back to her homework.

"Oh my god! Oh my god! Oh my god!" exclaimed Chloe after she hung up.

"Chloe, enough with the screaming. What's going on?"

"We've been given a second chance."

"What?"

"The Footnotes have been disqualified. The lead singer was still in high school. Those idiots didn't think to enroll him in at least one college course. Anyway, they're out, so we're in. We're going to the finals at Lincoln Center!"

"Oh," said Beca. "Well, have fun, I guess."

"You're not going?"

"Well, I don't exactly think I'm welcome. I stormed out and declared that I was done. So..."

"Just come to practice tomorrow and apologize."

"I'll think about it," said Beca.

* * *

The next day, Beca still hadn't decided what to do when Chloe left for practice. She finally decided she'd go to her parents' house for advice.

When she got there, only her dad was home. She normally went to her mother for advice, but she would have to settle for her dad's advice.

"I know I only joined to be closer to Chloe, but I...really liked those girls."

"Then, why did you quit?"

"I was just...so frustrated. I wish Aubrey would listen to me, or, at least, Chloe. Chloe is the co-captain, and she doesn't have any more of a say in the group than anyone else."

"So, you were going to quit and...?

"Okay, that was dumb. But, now, I want back in."

"Even if Aubrey still won't make a change?"

"Well, I won't like it, but, yeah. I want back in."

"I suppose I don't have to tell you what to do."

"No, I guess I just needed to hear it from someone else. Thanks, Dad."

"Of course, So, did I do okay? I know you normally ask your mother."

"You did great."

"Let us know when you'll be at Lincoln Center."

"I hope you're right, Dad!"

Beca headed to Barden to swallow her pride and apologize.

* * *

Beca entered the auditorium to find the entire group screaming and fighting. Aubrey, Chloe, and Fat Amy were wrestling on the floor, all three reaching for the pitch pipe. Cynthia Rose had her hands all over Stacie, and the others were watching the action in horror. Nobody even noticed she'd entered.

"Guys!" she yelled over the noise. "Guys, stop! What is going on?"

Aubrey got out of the pile and straightened up. "Nothing," she said, as though she hadn't just been fighting like some feral animal. "Nothing. This is a Bellas rehearsal."

"I know," Beca replied. "I just wanted to say that I'm sorry. What I did was a really dick move, and I shouldn't have changed the set without asking you guys. And I definitely shouldn't have left. I let you guys down, and I'm really sorry. And, Aubrey, if you would have me, I want back in."

Aubrey didn't say anything, and all the Bellas simply looked at her. Beca waited a few beats and then slowly dragged a chair out of the room. She hoped that Aubrey would stop her, but she tried to mentally prepare herself for the possibility that she wouldn't. Hopefully, Chloe would finally speak up, but Beca couldn't be sure that would be effective if she did. She could hear Fat Amy whisper "Aubrey?" so she stopped halfway to the door and looked back. When Aubrey still hadn't spoken up and wouldn't even make eye contact, she resumed dragging the chair.

She was almost to the door when Aubrey called, "Wait!"

Beca put down the chair and said, "Thank you. That would have been embarrassing."

"Beca, I know that I've been hard on you. Okay, I know that I have been hard on everyone here. But I am my father's daughter. And he always said, 'If at first you don't succeed, pack your bags.'"

All the Bellas reacted in shock.

"I get it," said Beca. "Mine gets on me too, not like that, but...I guess we don't know that much about each other. Well, Chloe and I do, but that's about it. Why don't we go around the room and say something about ourselves that nobody knows."

Stacie confessed that she had a lot of sex. "Yeah, Stacie, we know," said Beca.

"Umm...okay. Well, I'm not meeting my soulmate for a few more years, so I'm practicing."

"Okay, that's surprising."

Several others confessed things – Cynthia Rose had a gambling problem, Fat Amy's real name was Fat Patricia, and Lilly said something that sounded like she ate her twin in the womb (nobody asked her to repeat it).

Aubrey handed Beca the pitch pipe. "Are you serious?" she asked.

"Yes," said Aubrey. "It's time for a change."

"Well, okay," said Beca.

"I know the perfect place!" exclaimed Chloe.

"Why not here?"

"The acoustics are better in the empty pool."

"Okay, then."

The group followed Chloe to the empty pool.

"Let's remix this business," said Beca. "Aubrey, pick a song."

"Bruno Mars, 'Just the Way You Are.'"

"Okay. Chloe, take the lead."

Chloe began to sing the first few bars of the song, and Beca added in Nelly's "Just a Dream." It sounded great.

"Wow," said Aubrey. "You just made that up on the fly?"

"I guess," said Beca. "I just hear the music, and something inside of me tells me how to mash it with something else."

"Well, if that's what you did off the top of your head, I can't wait to see what you choose for the setlist."

"So, you're letting me choose the whole thing?"

"Yeah. It's the only way we're going to win."

"Well, okay," said Beca. "Give me a couple of days, and then I'll have something."

* * *

That night, once Beca and Chloe made it back to the dorm, Chloe squealed as she checked her e-mail.

"Beca, guess what?"

"This better be good because I'm going to go deaf if you don't stop squealing."

"We are off the waitlist for soulmate housing. We can move in next week!"

"That's awesome," said Beca. "I'm tired of pretending to still be sharing a room with Kimmy Jin."

"I'm sure," said Chloe.

"I'm going to head back to my official dorm, though, tomorrow afternoon. I want to figure out the setlist before I pack up my music equipment."

Beca smiled to herself. She was finally getting soulmate housing, and Aubrey had given her control of the setlist. Life was pretty good. Finally.

* * *

A/N: Stopping here because we know what happens next!


End file.
